Passage
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.
Because of these the wrath of God is coming [upon the disobedient].
By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths.
Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.
Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
COLOSSIANS 3:1-17
Today's Meditation
What a beautiful exhortation from St. Paul to the Colossians—to those who are now baptized—to leave their old selves because they now belong to God through Christ. He is directing them to have their eyes and hearts directed towards heaven. We were made by love, to love, and to be loved. Therefore, we are called to seek what speaks and looks like heaven. Meaning to practice all virtues and to live through love.
What's Stopping us?
Why is it that you always fall into the same kind of sin, and how can you help yourself to avoid it?
In our relationship with God, we should strive to always be in constant love and closeness to him, not hurting him. Think about it this way: with our spouse, sometimes we do something that could hurt him or her. But then, full of love for your spouse, you seek forgiveness for your wrongdoing. Even though there is forgiveness,there could still be some kind of wound left behind. This wound is still there for a bit, and it can only go away with a lot of love and time. Our relationship with God is very similar, although he never hurts us; rather, we are the ones who always hurt our Lord. Think about it for a second. Every time you sin, you hurt him, and yes, we do go and ask for forgiveness from our Lord with a sorrowful heart. But wouldn't it be way more loving to avoid any opportunity to hurt him?
In our Catholic culture, we have come to a lukewarmness about sinning towards God. We are always preaching, “You are human. It's okay if you sin. Just ask God for forgiveness and move on.” Well, yes, please do ask for forgiveness, but make that act of constriction one that you truly are sorry for and seek to not hurt God again. Is it possible to stop hurting God as long as we are alive? Yes, but only he can help us accomplish such a thing through his grace. Many saints, in their last years of life, were able to live their lives without habitual sin. What did they have that we don't have today? They devoutly and wholeheartedly loved God. When one is struggling with a specific sin for a long time, there needs to be a change of mind about how they are dealing with the sin. Instead of focusing on how much you have sinned, think about how much you want to love God. This is the key to eradicating that mortal or venial sin from your life. Live every second of your life trying to please God.
Healing your relationship with God
After God, your spouse comes next. Every day of your life, this order must be respected for the sacredness of your marriage. Therefore, the fruit of your love, children, should always go after your spouse. This means that you must purposely make space to grow in love with each other every day. This can look like taking care of each other and taking time purposefully to date your spouse in the midst of family life. Your spouse should always feel seen, loved, heard, and cared for by you.
Keeping this order of priorities will actually benefit your own children. When they see that mom and dad love each other and put each other first, they learn what true love is. Strong families and faithful children come from strong and faithful parents. Show your kids what marriage truly is; show your kids what it means to die for the other, to honor, and to care. To expand more on this topic, think of when you and your spouse need to make a simple decision. If your children are watching, what will you show them? When spouses work as a team and love each other as their priority, they are able to show their children no division but rather teamwork. Many marriages end in divorce because one of the spouses stops prioritizing. They put other things before their spouse. And unfortunately, many times, they cared way more for their children and forgot to nourish their love for their spouse. May this be a reminder to purposely keep first things first. After God, your spouse deserves to be before anyone and anything!
Building Virtue
There are practical things to do in order to avoid the near occasion of sin (temptation), and that is through virtues. St. Paul said to the Colossians: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these, put on love—that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful.” There are two kinds of virtues: theological and moral. Faith, hope, and charity are called theological virtues because they are the most important characteristics in a Christian’s life. They pertain to one's relationship with God, and all three are infused in you at the moment of your baptism. However, it’s important that you always ask God to increase these virtues every day of your life. On the other hand, moral virtues help us live within the moral parameters set forth by the gospel. Some of the most important are prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. There are a variety of virtues that derive from the cardinal moral virtues; we suggest you research them and start practicing them until they become an essential part of who you are and how you live your life in Christ.
STEPS TO ERIDCATE SIN AND GROW IN VIRTUE
1. Practice custody of the senses. This is key in spiritual combat. Avoid anything that appeals to your senses and can lead you to sin. Also, have custody of your mind; do not let anything sinful enter your imagination.
2.Work on mortification and self-denial. Through fasting, penance, and abstinence from time to time, not just in lent!
3.Do daily meditation. Fuel your mind and heart with the things of the Lord. This will help your mind be more disciplined and increase the peace within you, the one that only comes from Jesus.
4.Consider the punishment of sin. To avoid temptation, remember the possibility of ending up in hell. Also, think of the time in purgatory if one commits a venial sin.
5. Remember Christ’s Passion and all that he did in order to redeem us.
6.Develop a strong devotion to our Lady. Try to make the total consecration to our Lady written by St. Louis Marie de Montfort.
7.Do daily examination of conscience. It will make you more conscious of your everyday vices and strengthen your repugnance towards sin.
Today's Questions
Which temptations are leading you to sin?
How can you support your spouse to stay away from sin?
Today's Challenge
Make a list of your most frequent vices and look up what virtues can help you overcome them.
Don't Forget
Pray together the HOLY ROSARY every day (sorrowful mysteries only)
Pray OVER EACH other every day
Let's Pray
Give me, I beseech Thee, Holy Spirit, giver of all good, Thy gifts, that mighty grace which turns the stony hearts of mortals into burning furnaces of love. By your grace, free my captive soul from the slavery of every evil habit and concupiscence, to restore to it the holy liberty of the children of God. Make me taste how sweet it is to serve the Lord and to crucify the flesh with its vices and lusts. Enlarge my heart that I may joyfully walk the path of your commandments until I reach the goal of my aspirations, the joys and blessings of your house in heaven Amen.
Fr. Chad Ripperger, Prayers of liberation for the laity.
Dedicate to Jesus one HOLY HOUR of Adoration per week
